The More Things Change...

The More Things Change... is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Machine Head, released on March 25, 1997, through Roadrunner Records. It is the band's last release to feature original guitarist Logan Mader, and the first to feature drummer Dave McClain. The album's title alludes to the first part of the phrase, "The more things change, the more they stay the same"; the same phrase is mentioned during the chorus of "Struck a Nerve". The More Things Change... reached #138 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1997. By July 1998, it had sold 400,000 copies worldwide,[14] with 115,000 copies sold in the United States (as of 2002).[15] In 2020, it was named one of the 20 best metal albums of 1997 by Metal Hammer magazine.[16]

The More Things Change...
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 25, 1997 (1997-03-25)[1]
Studio
Genre
Length52:42
LabelRoadrunner
ProducerColin Richardson
Machine Head chronology
Burn My Eyes
(1994)
The More Things Change...
(1997)
The Burning Red
(1999)
Singles from The More Things Change...
  1. "Ten Ton Hammer"
    Released: 1997
  2. "Take My Scars"
    Released: November 24, 1997
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Chronicles of Chaos7/10[5]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal8/10[6]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[7]
In Music We Trust[8]
Metal Hammer[9]
NME1/10[10]
Rock Hard9/10[11]
Select[12]
Vox6/10[13]

Track listing

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All lyrics are written by Robb Flynn; all music is composed by Machine Head, except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."Ten Ton Hammer"4:14
2."Take My Scars"4:19
3."Struck a Nerve"3:33
4."Down to None"5:28
5."The Frontlines"5:51
6."Spine"6:37
7."Bay of Pigs"3:46
8."Violate"7:19
9."Blistering"4:58
10."Blood of the Zodiac"6:37
Total length:52:42
Japanese edition enhanced CD
No.TitleLength
1."Ten Ton Hammer" (music video)4:28
Digipak edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."The Possibility of Life's Destruction" (Discharge cover)1:31
12."My Misery"4:42
13."Colors" (Ice-T cover)4:39

Personnel

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Chart performance

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Chart (1997) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[17] 30
Austrian Albums Chart[18] 24
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[19] 11
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[20] 20
Dutch Albums Chart[21] 22
Finnish Albums Chart[22] 13
French Albums Chart[23] 21
German Albums Chart[24] 22
Hungarian Albums Chart[25] 25
New Zealand Albums Chart[26] 44
Norwegian Albums Chart[27] 15
Scottish Albums Chart[28] 23
Swedish Albums Chart[29] 17
UK Album Chart[30] 16
Billboard 200[31] 138

References

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  1. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The More Things Change - Machine Head | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  2. ^ Lawson, Dom (March 26, 2021). "How Machine Head's The More Things Change… took '90s metal to a new level of intensity". Metal Hammer. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  3. ^ Law, Sam (July 10, 2019). "The 50 best albums from 1999". Kerrang!. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Monger, James Christopher. "Machine Head Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  5. ^ Bromley, Adrian (March 16, 1997). "CoC : Machine Head - The More Things Change... : Review". Chronicles of Chaos. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  6. ^ Popoff, Martin (2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 257. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
  7. ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2006). "Machine Head". Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5 (4th ed.). MUZE. p. 408. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
  8. ^ Follett, Todd (July–August 1997). "Machine Head: The More Things Change..." In Music We Trust. No. 1. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  9. ^ Silver, Dan (April 1997). "Under the Hammer". Metal Hammer. UK: Dennis Publishing. pp. 58–59.
  10. ^ Beaumont, Mark (April 12, 1997). "Machine Head - The More Things Change..." NME. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  11. ^ Kupfer, Thomas (March 25, 1997). "The More Things Change..." www.rockhard.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  12. ^ Barnes, Mike (April 1997). "Machine Head - The More Things Change..." Select. EMAP. p. 110. Retrieved November 2, 2019 – via selectmagazinescans.monkeon.co.uk.
  13. ^ Ewing, Jerry (April 1997). "Reviews". Vox. No. 78. IPC. p. 103.
  14. ^ Chirazi, Steffen (July 25, 1998). "The Harder They Come". Kerrang!. No. 709. pp. 40–43.
  15. ^ "Metal/Hard Rock Album Sales In The US As Reported By SoundScan". Blabbermouth.net. April 30, 2002. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  16. ^ "The Top 20 best metal albums of 1997". Metal Hammer. Future plc. December 2, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  17. ^ "Machine Head - The More Things Change..." australian-charts.com.
  18. ^ "Machine Head - The More Things Change..." austriancharts.at.
  19. ^ "Machine Head - The More Things Change..." ultratop.be.
  20. ^ "Machine Head - The More Things Change..." ultratop.be.
  21. ^ "Machine Head - The More Things Change..." dutchcharts.nl.
  22. ^ "Machine Head - The More Things Change..." finnishcharts.com.
  23. ^ "Machine Head - The More Things Change..." lescharts.com.
  24. ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts" (in German). Musicline.de. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  25. ^ "1997/17 heti Album Top 40 slágerlista" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  26. ^ "Machine Head - The More Things Change..." charts.nz.
  27. ^ "Machine Head - The More Things Change..." norwegiancharts.com.
  28. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  29. ^ "Machine Head - The More Things Change..." swedishcharts.com.
  30. ^ "Machine Head UK Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  31. ^ "The More Things Change - Machine Head". Billboard.
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